Editor’s Note: Although this story already ran on Tuesday in The Daily News, we are publishing it today in our printed edition for readers who have not yet subscribed to our free, five-days-a-week electronic edition. Visit http://bit.ly/dailynewsdigital

By Bonnie Eslinger

Five people have emerged so far to run for two open San Mateo County Superior Court seats in the June 3 election, according to candidate filing papers.

Because the two judges whose seats are open will not seek re-election, candidates have until today to join the contest. No opponents stepped up by Friday’s deadline to challenge any of the six other judges running for another term.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said it’s unusual for San Mateo County to see more than one contested judicial race, let alone two.

One seat opened when Judge Beth Labson Freeman was appointed last month to U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Superior Court Commissioner Susan L. Greenberg and Redwood City-based defense attorney Jeffrey B. Hayden will oppose each other to succeed her. Chief Deputy County Counsel Kathryn E. Meola also had submitted filing papers but withdrew her candidacy, Wagstaffe said.

In the other race, three candidates filed to run for the seat of retiring Judge Craig Parsons: Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Garratt, Daly City Councilman Raymond A. Buenaventura and Christiana State, a temporary small claims court judge in Santa Clara County.

Violent police encounters in California last year led to the deaths of 157 people and six officers, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday in a report that provides the first statewide tally on police use-of-force incidents.